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GSOE9820 Assignment Part 1
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Criteria for good WBS
Basics
1. The WBS represents scope, (nouns) and not activities (verbs)
2. The connectors between the WPs represent decomposition, not
sequencing, or some other relationship
3. The WPs represent both the product scope and the outcomes
of PM work needed to complete the project.
4. The WBS mostly represents scope of the product, i.e. the
deliverables that the sponsor wants to see – not the scope of the
assignment that a group of students needs to hand in.
100% Rule
5. No obvious duplication of scope in duplicated WPs
6. No partial duplication of scope between the WPs, even though
they may be named differently
7. No deliverables, which you would expect to see, are missing
from the scope diagram, according to your understanding of the
product and project scope
The WPs are not too big
8. WP ‘x’ is too big if its successful completion seems to depend
on completing another WP ‘y’ midway through the progress of
completing WP ‘x’. In this case splitting up ‘x into two separate
WPs would make the project easier to manage.
9. You could calculate the cost of each WP, or obtain a quote for
them from a supplier, as a single item.
10. Each WP could feasibly be managed by one person
The WPs are not too small
11. They are too small and have been decomposed too far if you
believe that combining some of the WP together would not impact
your ability to cost or otherwise manage the delivery of the
resulting larger WP
Criteria for good WBS